sharppointysticks's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this more than I thought I would. I had a very hard time getting into it at first. I actually almost gave up on it... but I'm glad I stuck it out. About a third of the way in it started to really grab me.
knitwgrace's review against another edition
2.0
Had this on my to read list for a while....but just noticed that a friend of mine rated it poorly....prepared to jump-ship...we'll see!
Wasn't bad, but not great either. I found myself annoyed with some of the main characters. I did like how the writing set the tone for the book...it was set in Hong Kong and supposed to be hot and sticky for much of the book and the author's writing style really set the mood (in a good way)
Wasn't bad, but not great either. I found myself annoyed with some of the main characters. I did like how the writing set the tone for the book...it was set in Hong Kong and supposed to be hot and sticky for much of the book and the author's writing style really set the mood (in a good way)
darbystouffer's review against another edition
3.0
This was a mixture of excellent and not so great. The affair part was blah, I don’t like reading about protagonists having affairs. But the rest of it was fascinating. I knew very little about WWII from an Asian perspective and those parts of the story were gut wrenching and poetic all at once. It starts slow but gets good in the middle and through the end. Would have been 4 stars if the heroine could have kept her pants on.
samidhak's review against another edition
3.0
2.5-3 stars.
I honestly don't know why I read the entire book. I felt next to nothing for all the major and minor characters. The only intriguing aspect in the book was the World War II setting and the way society and surveillance have been analyzed.
Apart from that, I really wasn't bothered about Claire, Trudy, Will, The Chens. Funnily the only person I felt bad about was Pai, the caretaker and that wasn't even relevant to the story in any way.
Martin was not even a real character, and some of this could be applied to Claire as well.
The writing style was foggy and vague and the ending had too many loop holes and loose ends.
I honestly don't know why I read the entire book. I felt next to nothing for all the major and minor characters. The only intriguing aspect in the book was the World War II setting and the way society and surveillance have been analyzed.
Apart from that, I really wasn't bothered about Claire, Trudy, Will, The Chens. Funnily the only person I felt bad about was Pai, the caretaker and that wasn't even relevant to the story in any way.
Martin was not even a real character, and some of this could be applied to Claire as well.
The writing style was foggy and vague and the ending had too many loop holes and loose ends.
nappower's review against another edition
3.0
flowed along real easy, presented an interesting perspective (hong kong), i think it would be a fantastic basis for a great movie
veryrealpanda's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
avamariearm's review against another edition
I was bored and it’s a slow burn .. not my favorite
miriamberger's review against another edition
2.0
I just can't get into this book. I read 131 pages, which I think at that point, you should be sold. You should be thinking about it when you're not reading it, and not wanting to put it down. That wasn't the case for me, unfortunately. The writing is fine but the characters aren't compelling to me and I don't like all the back and forth between 1942 and 1952. I think I gave it a fair shot, though...
rachel_mft's review against another edition
4.0
Loved this. So vivid, lush, and gripping. The characters so deep and real, the images of Hong Kong in wartime...I found myself thinking abut this book often throughout the day.
sarah_dietrich's review against another edition
2.0
I loved the Hong Kong setting, didn't enjoy much else about it. I found the characters to be very flat, their emotions & motivations didn't come through very well. I did like the ending & felt that it was quite apt, the only ending that could have really made any sense.